These absences were due to a range of reasons including illness, holidays and suspensions.
(Source: www.pixabay.com)School absences for holidays during term time increased by more than 800-per cent during the 2021-2022 academic year.
More than 350-thousand days were missed by primary pupils for holidays - up from 38-thousand-600 in the previous academic year.
The report by Tusla also shows that in secondary schools, 12-thousand days were missed due to family holidays during term time.
This figure is up from 1,259 days during the 2020-2021 year.
140-thousand primary school children missed more than 20 days of school during the 2021-2022 academic year.
4-and-a-half million days were missed by primary pupils during term time between September 2021 and June 2022.
These absences were due to a range of reasons including illness, holidays and suspensions.
Helen is a primary school teacher and principal in Cork.
She's strongly advising parents against planning any holidays for September:
'The prices have come down so much on holidays on the 1st of September.'
'Parents could be tempted to go on their sun holiday then or abroad as a family.'
'I believe that all children should be back in school at the beginning of the school year.'
'September is really a settling in month.'
